Wrapped article



J. G. JONES.

WRAPPED ARTICLE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 24, 1919.

I m 1 3' N) rb 7%) k m s x Ti Q I II] IN EN TOR. John Jzzes, BY m m A TTORNEY WITNES I E N TED TE PATE T- ounce.

- JOHN .G. JONES, OF ROCHESTER, NEWYORK, ASSIGNOR '10 EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NE RK.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Ma a, 1921.

Original application filedApril 16, 1917, Serial No. 162,520. Divided and this application filed February 24, 1919. Serial No. 278,782. I

Be it known that I, JOHN G. JONES, a I

citizen of the United States of America, re-

sidin at Rochester in the county of'Monroc' and tate of New ork, have invented cer-.

tain new and useful Improvements in Vrapped Articles, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates to a wrapped article. More particularly it relates to individual, substantially tight, and moisture proof protective'wrappings formed about objects to be preserved, such as spools supporting or havin wound thereon a sensitive photo graphlc roll film. -1

to provide inexpensive, reliable, regular, airtight or impervious wrappings, of especial utllity in protecting film spools even in moist climates; to provide such wrappings in which the ends comprise substantially regularfolds converging toward and compressed together at the center of the spool ends; to provide tight longitudinal lockseams which also enter unimpaired into the regular folds of the ends of the wrapper; to.

rovide such a wrapping smoothly conformmg to the spool without, having protruding or bent-over twisted extensions particularly on the ends, which extensions not only require a larger packing space for the wrapped article but are liable to become caught or hit and thereby loosened enough to admit moisture; .to provide a wrapper having such properties and composed of supplementary sheets of relatively strong tension-resistmg material such as paper and relatively easy and firmly setting impervious material such as metal foil; to provide wrappings in which the ends lie in a plane substantially parallel to the .spool ends yet are independent of adhesive connection with such ends; and to provide wrappings which have the hereinabove listed advantages, yet may be' readily removed from the spool. Other objects will hereinafter appear.

While my invention is of general applicability, it is especially useful for-the wraping of loaded film spools on a commercial scale. I shall, therefore, describe, as an example thereof, its application to that particular field.

The principal objects of my invention are p v in Fig. 1.

Figure 1 is a diagram showmg the steps of my process and illustrating in side elevation one of the means which may be used in carrying them out.

Fig. 2 is a cross section taken on the line 2--2 in Fig. 1. V

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3--3 in 1g. 4 is a section taken on the line 44 FFig. 5 is a section taken on the line 5-5 in Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 6-6 in Fig. 1. ig. 7 is a section taken on the line 7-7 1n Fig. 1. V

Fig. 8 1s a section taken on the'line 8 --8 Fig. 9 is an end elevation of the product resulting from my process.

In the present example of my process the general sequence of operations is to first form a locked seam tube about a series of articles in spaced relation and then form a twist in the tube between the end object and the second object and sever the tube at the twist. Next a twist is formed in the tube between the second and third objects and the tube is severed at the second. twist. By repeating the twisting and severing operations successively along the tube'I separate and individually wrap the articles, each being surrounded by a wrapping have a locked side seam and somewhat conical or tapering twisted ends. These twisted ends are then compacted closely against the ends-of the inclosed articles.

Referring to Fig. 1, a strip or sheet of suitable wrapping material a, which may be conveniently contained in a roll 1 is fed forwardly in a longitudinal direction intermittently over a suitable guiding means, such as roll 2. It then passes into a shaping trough 3 and under feed chute 4 from which spools b are fed under the strip intermittently, one spool being dropped on to the strip during each period of rest. This spool feeding operation may be done by any of the means well lmown in analogous arts or by hand. Thetrough 3 progressively bends upward the ed es of the strip a into the forms indicated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, thus starting the tube forming operation.

The periodic or intermittent movements 5 of sheet a are of such a length that the spools b will be spaced thereon a predetermined distance apart and will preferably lie lon itudinally thereon in anal alinement. he 'front part of the partially formed tube enters the die- 5, which, by means of smoothly turning guideways, forms a tight locked seam 14, as indicated in Fig. 8, the intermediate steps of the seam formation belng indicated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. The seam is thus formed during the intermittent forward movements of the strip a, so as to complete a tube concentrically about the film spools. The movement of the strip and tube and spools is accomplished by grasping the tube near the foremost spool of the series and pulling it forwardly to the twistin pos1- tion shown at the extreme right in ig. 1. This may be done by hand, but in work on a large scale will preferably be done by automatic means (not shown).

When the end or first spool has been fed to a position where it can be acted upon by the rolls 9, 9 said rolls are operated to rotate the section of tube surrounding the first spool relative to the portion of tube surrounding the second spool. Any suitable number of rolls, say three or four, may be employed. This operation produces in the tube a double taperin portion, comprising the approximately conical ends 7 which meet at closely compacted, twisted and joined apices 8. These apices are twisted sufficiently to be practically air-tight or moisture roof.

p The tube is now severed by shears 6, 6 between these apices 8, whereby-there is produced a parcel 10 consisting of a film spool inclosed in a wrapper having a locked side seam and tapering ends, having substantially regular folds which converge toward the apices 8. Of course, when starting the process there will be no tapering portion 7 at the outermost end of the tube, but, thereafter, aslong as strip a and spools b are supplied, there will always be one of the tapering constricted ends 7 upon the outermost end of the tube.

The ends 7 of the parcel 10 are next compressed against the ends of the contained film spool so as to smoothly conform to the shape thereof. In other words the folds lie fiat in the form of a substantially impervious sheet, the pressure which may be applied by heads 11, being sufficient to compact the 6 folds to make the package tight. The outer faces of the folds 13 thus become practically coextensive with the outer face of their central union, formed by compression of apex 8. My process possesses triple assurance that the ends of the parcel shall be tight and impervious. The twisting operation makes the apices 8 tight, the shearing operation also com resses apices 8, and the final pressure ap ied b heads 11 tightly compresses the en s. W ile the action of heads 11 is the main compressing operation, the other operations supplement it so that an accidental impairment of one operation will be corrected by the other compressin operations, the product remaining uniformly tight. The material out of which the strip a is made may', of course, be any suitable wrapping material, but for the wrapping of film spools by my process I find that superposed layers of waxed paper and metal foil are the best. The feeding operation, by means of a pull upon the forward s 001, subjects the tube and strip to longitu inal stresses, and the paper, which has a greater tensile strength than the foil, aids the latter in resisting the tendency to tear. The metal foil is particularly useful, because it has a low elastic limit and thus maintains the form into which it-is folded. It thus maintains the locked seam in a tight condition, there being no tendency for the folds to spring out and open as would be the case with a more resilient substance. Thus the paper and foil supplement each other.

During the twisting operation, the mate- 95. rial of the tube that enters into the twist tends to occupy a shorter length. Each twist calls for a longitudinal contraction. Consequently, if the spools were held at a constant distance apart during the twisting, very severe stresses would be set up in the twisted material and a rupture thereof would be possible. To avoid this, the sections of tube surrounding the two outermost spools are pushed toward each other either prior to or during the twisting operation, thereby compensating for the material which enters the twist. This approaching of the tube sections (and contained film spools) is most conveniently done by givin the second spool 12 of the series a slight additional feeding movement toward the first spool 6, such additional movement being performed by an additional motion of the feeding means which, as before mentioned, may be anyv of the well known feeding mechanisms employed in analogous arts, or may be the operators hand. In Fig.- 1, after the tube has been pulled to bring the outermost contained spool between rolls 9, the feeding means may return and grip the tube at a point outside spool 6 or preferably outside the forward end of said spool. Spool b and the sur rounding tube may then be given the described additional movement to compensate for the twist. After the twisting and severing operations, spool b and the surrounding tube are in their turn fully fed between rolls 9, and so on.

While other severing means may someadvantage that they tend to compact the folds of the constricted apices 8 prior to severing them, thus contributing toward the certainty of a tight joint in the finished product.

With some kinds of wrapping material,

especially those which comprise metal foil,

the tube must be carefully handled and manipulated during the advancing operation when the outermost spool is pulled forward,

and during the twisting operation. I have found that this liability to injury to the wrapper or cover is avoided by grasping the tube and by applying turning forces to it at those points of the tube walls which are opposite the flanges of the contained spools.

-t-ained spool.

form in quality and the 'wrappings thereof are particularly tight and impervious to moisture and harmful emanations. In the first place the locked side seam 14 is of such a nature that it does not become open or loose during the twisting operation and so reaches the final product ina perfectlytight condition, unlike an ordinary. lap joint which easily becomes lOOSe enough to ad mit moist air, even when it appears tight to the eye. Of course, any of the well known locked seams which are commonly employed in wrapping operations could be substituted for the same shown in-Fig. 7, the particular nature of the locked seam being immaterial so long as it particularly cooperates with the subsequent steps of my process. Bya locked seam then, I. mean one in which the parts are so securely joined that they will not become loose or pervious when the tube is twisted. In cases where the articles to be wrapped would not be injured by the temperature it is within the province of my invention to employ soldering, welding, or sticking, of the metal foil edges by pressing and heating means which are known in ,the art. Of course the cross sectional shape of the tube will depend upon the shape of the objects to be wrapped and is not necessarily circular. The wrapping is free from projections, likely to be caught or hit, thus loosening up the seams sufiiciently to impair the air-tight or moisture proof quality. Moreover the plane ends are obtained without adhesive connection with the spool and so the wrapper is readily removable.

While I have illustrated my invention as applied to the wrapping of cylindrical flanged spools containing roll film, it is obvious that it could be applied to objects of other shapes and sizes within the scope of th appended claims. Insteads of placing one article in a parcel, groups of articles may bewrapped, such, for example, as two alined film spools in one wrapper. -Furthermore, it is noted that the several steps of I w my process may be carried out by hand or p'artlyby hand and partly by mechanism where automatic machinery is not available,

spaced operators being placed at the station where the spools are fed on to the strip,

where the, tube is formed around "the spools,

where the. lockedseam is formed, where the feeding and twisting takes place, where the shearing is performed, and where the comclaimed in my Patent 1,313,234, granted Thus-in Fig. l, it will be noted that the rollers 9 are, opposite the'flanges of the con- Aug. 12, 1919, on application, Serial No.

,162,520, filed April 16, 1917, of which the present case is a division.

I claim: 1. As an article of manufacture, a flat ended object susceptible to the eflects of moisture, and a moisture proof wrapper therefor conforming smoothly to the shape "of such object, said wrapping being sealed throughout its length, and having closures at each end formed of the portions thereof-extending beyond the corresponding end of the object twisted to form folds converging regularly and radially and under tension to a central compacted union of all such folds, said union being compressed axially against the object into a substantially flat, coherent mass and having a smooth outer surface parallel to the corresponding end of the object.

2. As an article of manufacture, a flat ended objectl susceptible to the effects of moisture, and a moisture proof Wrapper therefor conforming smoothly to the shape of such object, said. wrapping being sealed throughout its length, and having closures at each end formed of the portions thereof extending beyond the corresponding end of the object twisted to form folds converging regularly and radially and 'under tension to a central compacted union of all such folds, said union being compressed axially against the object into a substantially flat, coherent mass and having a smooth outer surface parallel to the corresponding end of the object, and the material of the finished end wrapping being compressed in three directions, namely,-torsionally, laterally and axially of the package.

3. As an article of manufacture, a flat ended object susceptible to the effects of light and moisture, and an opaque, moisture proof wrapping therefor, the wrapping conformingsmoothly tothe shape of the object and comprising sheets of paper and metal foil and sealed throughout its len th, and having closures at each end forme of the portions thereof extending beyondthe corresponding end of the object twisted to form folds converging regularly and radially and under tension to a central, com parted union of all such folds, compressed axially against the object into a substantially flat, coherent mass and having a smooth outer surface parallel to the corresponding end of the object, and forming the sole fastening means for the wrapping.

4. As an article of manufacture, a flatcnded, cylindrical photographic film spool, and an opaque, moisture proof wrapping therefor, the wrapping conforming smoothly to the shape of the spool but readily removable therefrom, said wrapping comprising sheets of paper and metal foil closed by a longitudinal locked seam and end closures, the closure at each .end being formed of portions of the sheets extending beyond the corresponding end of the spool twisted to form folds converging regularly and ra-, dially and under tension to a central, compacted union of all such folds, said union being compressed axially against the spool into a substantially flat, coherent mass and having a smooth outer surface parallel to the corresponding end of the spool, the lock seam continued into and becoming a part of such compressed union at each end ofthe spool, and the unions forming the sole fastening means for the wrapping and the inaterial of th finished end wrapping being compressed in three directions, namely, torsionally, laterally and axially of the package.

Signed at Rochester, New York, this 21st day of Feb., 1919.

JOHN G. JONES. 

